Spike pulled her up just before she hit the floor, and held her steady with
his hands on her hips until he thought that she would be able to stand
alone, when she had stopped shaking as much he let go and she stood there
staring at the three spectres in front of her.
"Mommy?" Violet stepped forward towards the transparent form of her mother standing right in front of her, she hadn't seen her since she was five, she had seen pictures and watched home videos but that hadn't been the same as touching her mom's hair holding her hand and hugging her.
She had missed her so much, missed her voice the look in her eyes, her presence every day and here she was standing right in front of her.
Spike saw her step forward and grabbed her back wards saying,
"You can't go to them, Babe, all they are are a reflection of their souls, they're not real, if you try to touch them, they'll just disappear back into the mirror again."
Violet stepped back immediately and said
"How?"
"When a person dies Pet, their soul leaves their bodies and goes on to a better place, their body rots away into the ground, but they leave a part of themselves on earth to watch over those who they love, they can't always be seen or touched but their there. Watching you, caring for you and loving you. You said that when you were little you used to come here and talk to them well they would have listened to you with all they had, and gone on to tell the souls what you said."
Spike finished and smiled right at Buffy's form who was floating in front of him, he seemed to be lost in a trance and forgetting that Violet was there he spoke to her
"Hey Luv, it's me again, I've come to see how you are, and to tell you, that I think about you every single day, and I've come home, come home to Violet, you wouldn't believe how beautiful she is pet, she looks just like you. She's here with me tonight now........................" He paused for a moment carrying on after turning to Violet and squeezing her hand.
"You have to do something for, she's coming to you tonight, you need to help her pet, guide her to you, will you do that for me?"
Buffy's Spectre began to nod and then disappeared, Dawn stepped forward she smiled at him,
"Violet, this is Dawn, she's your Aunt....... Although you probably know that don't you pet?"
She smiled at him and nodded Violet stepped forward slightly towards her being careful not to cross the mirror's barrier,
"I remember her, when I was little, she went suddenly one day before you left, no one told me why," she said turning to spike momentarily before turning back to dawn,
"I missed you though, you smelled like chocolate, where did you go?" Dawn looked sad and beckoned to Violet, she turned to Spike to check that it was ok for her to go forward, he nodded his permission and she advanced towards Dawn's outstretched hand.
The minute her fingers penetrated the barrier of the mirror, she felt hands reaching to her grabbing hold of her and pulling her down wards, downwards, into oblivion, everything was dark she could see images rushing past her thousands of people from all over the world and from all times it was like peeping into the world itself, it whirl wind of activity, the wind was blue sky blue and it was rough tossing her from side to side to side, until finally exhaling her through one of the window's.
She fell from the moon itself, she felt as she landed on the floor, she was in exactly the same spot which she had been only minutes before, but her dad was no where to be seen, she stood up and brushed the loose grass strands which had clung to her jeans, she took a look around her, in front of her were the graves just as they had been before, but as she looked closer she saw that things weren't just as they had been, instead of the three graves standing next to the tree there were only two, it was then she noticed the person standing next to her, wearing a tight fitting black jeans a black roll neck top and a cranberry cord jacket, with her caramel hair flowing down her back almost to her waist.
The figure turned to look at her, it was Dawn.
"Where are we, what did you do? I want to go back........ take me back!"
Violet started staring at the girl, she had been about 19 when she died and she hadn't aged in any way since that day.
"I'm here to show you something." Dawn said turning to face her little niece who was not so little any more a sad smile adorning her face.
"What?"
"How I died." Dawn whispered slowly turning back to look at the graves.
"This is the night after Buffy's funeral, I came here alone, no one would help me, not even Spike. He knew it wouldn't work they all did, tried to tell me again and again, I think they thought that I must have just accepted it or something cause no one suspected what I was doing when I said I was going to spend the night with Seth."
She broke off just as a figure came into sight from the over side of the tree, it was Dawn; she looked scared and was alone.
She looked around quickly before dropping her backpack to the floor stripping off the long jacket she was wearing and reaching into the bag, pulling out a pale white velvet dress with a full skirt, she pulled it over her head before reaching under it and unbuckling her jeans and pulling off her shirt.
Violet turned to the Dawn who was standing next to her and said
"What's going on? What are you doing?"
The other Dawn was walking around Buffy's grave, setting up for candles to represent north, south, east and west. She put the stone of Armara in the centre of the newly covered grave and kneeled at the base of the newly covered grave facing the tombstone.
"I'm......... I tried to bring Buffy back again, she had died before about six years before this and Willow had brought her back using some of the most powerful magic's which have ever been found, I thought that I could handle it myself, bring her back again since they couldn't I'd been studying magic for a bout four years by this time and thought that I could do it."
Violet stood watching, transfixed by the sight in front of her, Dawn had reached over and lit the candles on each of the four corners of the grave. She leant back on her knees held a candle in her arms as she chanted,
"Osirus keeper of death I call you, release the people's warrior realise her soul to world so we may again have our protector."
A great wind began to howl around the cemetery devouring the leaves on its journey round and swaying around and around the tomb as dawn continued to try and chant her skin cracking along her arms and neck from the power of the magic's which she was trying to channel.
Blood spilling out of the slits in a current as the winds became more and more ferocious.
Circling round and around the graves as the chanting got quieter and the tears got louder.
As Dawn's body slumped forward onto the grave, the wind dying immediately as if it had never happened to be replace by a subtle breeze which whispered across the ground ruffling dawn's dress as it sailed over it, the moonlight glazing over it's once milky whiteness which was now tainted with the blood of the dead.
Violet wiped the tear from her eye as she turned to Dawn whispering softly "What happened?"
"The magic won, I wasn't strong enough to control it's power so it over through me."
Dawn lent over to hug Violet and wiped her eyes with her fingers saying
"It didn't hurt, just reach for my hand when it happens, I know what your going to be doing later so does Buffy, we'll be there waiting for you, just reach out to us when you feel the end and you'll feel no pain, we'll pull you towards us."
Violet hugged Dawn tightly and whispered "Thank you"
When she had pulled away from the hug, Dawn wasn't there any more, she was back in the graveyard standing with her dad, the spectres were gone and there was nothing but the graves.
Spike offered his hand to Violet and she took it, they walked in silence to the gate of the graveyard they walked through it and walked home.
They stopped outside the house and spike turned to her saying,
"Are you ok pet?"
"Yeah dad I'm fine, thank you for taking me it meant a lot to me, she told me to reach for her at the end, and she'll be there."
They hugged and went back into the house.
"Mommy?" Violet stepped forward towards the transparent form of her mother standing right in front of her, she hadn't seen her since she was five, she had seen pictures and watched home videos but that hadn't been the same as touching her mom's hair holding her hand and hugging her.
She had missed her so much, missed her voice the look in her eyes, her presence every day and here she was standing right in front of her.
Spike saw her step forward and grabbed her back wards saying,
"You can't go to them, Babe, all they are are a reflection of their souls, they're not real, if you try to touch them, they'll just disappear back into the mirror again."
Violet stepped back immediately and said
"How?"
"When a person dies Pet, their soul leaves their bodies and goes on to a better place, their body rots away into the ground, but they leave a part of themselves on earth to watch over those who they love, they can't always be seen or touched but their there. Watching you, caring for you and loving you. You said that when you were little you used to come here and talk to them well they would have listened to you with all they had, and gone on to tell the souls what you said."
Spike finished and smiled right at Buffy's form who was floating in front of him, he seemed to be lost in a trance and forgetting that Violet was there he spoke to her
"Hey Luv, it's me again, I've come to see how you are, and to tell you, that I think about you every single day, and I've come home, come home to Violet, you wouldn't believe how beautiful she is pet, she looks just like you. She's here with me tonight now........................" He paused for a moment carrying on after turning to Violet and squeezing her hand.
"You have to do something for, she's coming to you tonight, you need to help her pet, guide her to you, will you do that for me?"
Buffy's Spectre began to nod and then disappeared, Dawn stepped forward she smiled at him,
"Violet, this is Dawn, she's your Aunt....... Although you probably know that don't you pet?"
She smiled at him and nodded Violet stepped forward slightly towards her being careful not to cross the mirror's barrier,
"I remember her, when I was little, she went suddenly one day before you left, no one told me why," she said turning to spike momentarily before turning back to dawn,
"I missed you though, you smelled like chocolate, where did you go?" Dawn looked sad and beckoned to Violet, she turned to Spike to check that it was ok for her to go forward, he nodded his permission and she advanced towards Dawn's outstretched hand.
The minute her fingers penetrated the barrier of the mirror, she felt hands reaching to her grabbing hold of her and pulling her down wards, downwards, into oblivion, everything was dark she could see images rushing past her thousands of people from all over the world and from all times it was like peeping into the world itself, it whirl wind of activity, the wind was blue sky blue and it was rough tossing her from side to side to side, until finally exhaling her through one of the window's.
She fell from the moon itself, she felt as she landed on the floor, she was in exactly the same spot which she had been only minutes before, but her dad was no where to be seen, she stood up and brushed the loose grass strands which had clung to her jeans, she took a look around her, in front of her were the graves just as they had been before, but as she looked closer she saw that things weren't just as they had been, instead of the three graves standing next to the tree there were only two, it was then she noticed the person standing next to her, wearing a tight fitting black jeans a black roll neck top and a cranberry cord jacket, with her caramel hair flowing down her back almost to her waist.
The figure turned to look at her, it was Dawn.
"Where are we, what did you do? I want to go back........ take me back!"
Violet started staring at the girl, she had been about 19 when she died and she hadn't aged in any way since that day.
"I'm here to show you something." Dawn said turning to face her little niece who was not so little any more a sad smile adorning her face.
"What?"
"How I died." Dawn whispered slowly turning back to look at the graves.
"This is the night after Buffy's funeral, I came here alone, no one would help me, not even Spike. He knew it wouldn't work they all did, tried to tell me again and again, I think they thought that I must have just accepted it or something cause no one suspected what I was doing when I said I was going to spend the night with Seth."
She broke off just as a figure came into sight from the over side of the tree, it was Dawn; she looked scared and was alone.
She looked around quickly before dropping her backpack to the floor stripping off the long jacket she was wearing and reaching into the bag, pulling out a pale white velvet dress with a full skirt, she pulled it over her head before reaching under it and unbuckling her jeans and pulling off her shirt.
Violet turned to the Dawn who was standing next to her and said
"What's going on? What are you doing?"
The other Dawn was walking around Buffy's grave, setting up for candles to represent north, south, east and west. She put the stone of Armara in the centre of the newly covered grave and kneeled at the base of the newly covered grave facing the tombstone.
"I'm......... I tried to bring Buffy back again, she had died before about six years before this and Willow had brought her back using some of the most powerful magic's which have ever been found, I thought that I could handle it myself, bring her back again since they couldn't I'd been studying magic for a bout four years by this time and thought that I could do it."
Violet stood watching, transfixed by the sight in front of her, Dawn had reached over and lit the candles on each of the four corners of the grave. She leant back on her knees held a candle in her arms as she chanted,
"Osirus keeper of death I call you, release the people's warrior realise her soul to world so we may again have our protector."
A great wind began to howl around the cemetery devouring the leaves on its journey round and swaying around and around the tomb as dawn continued to try and chant her skin cracking along her arms and neck from the power of the magic's which she was trying to channel.
Blood spilling out of the slits in a current as the winds became more and more ferocious.
Circling round and around the graves as the chanting got quieter and the tears got louder.
As Dawn's body slumped forward onto the grave, the wind dying immediately as if it had never happened to be replace by a subtle breeze which whispered across the ground ruffling dawn's dress as it sailed over it, the moonlight glazing over it's once milky whiteness which was now tainted with the blood of the dead.
Violet wiped the tear from her eye as she turned to Dawn whispering softly "What happened?"
"The magic won, I wasn't strong enough to control it's power so it over through me."
Dawn lent over to hug Violet and wiped her eyes with her fingers saying
"It didn't hurt, just reach for my hand when it happens, I know what your going to be doing later so does Buffy, we'll be there waiting for you, just reach out to us when you feel the end and you'll feel no pain, we'll pull you towards us."
Violet hugged Dawn tightly and whispered "Thank you"
When she had pulled away from the hug, Dawn wasn't there any more, she was back in the graveyard standing with her dad, the spectres were gone and there was nothing but the graves.
Spike offered his hand to Violet and she took it, they walked in silence to the gate of the graveyard they walked through it and walked home.
They stopped outside the house and spike turned to her saying,
"Are you ok pet?"
"Yeah dad I'm fine, thank you for taking me it meant a lot to me, she told me to reach for her at the end, and she'll be there."
They hugged and went back into the house.